POPULATION IN EASTERN VISAYAS REACHES to 4.63 MILLION IN 2024

Tacloban City–The regional Office 8 of the Philippine Statistics Authority ( PSA)  revealed as of  July  1, 2024, the total population of Eastern Visayas stood at 4,625,929. 

This count is based on the 2024 Census of Population (2024 POPCEN) released officially through  Proclamation  No.  973  dated  11  July  2025.  The  population  of  the  region accounted for about 4.1 percent of the country’s 112,729,484 total population. 

 Philippine Statistics Authority  Compared  with  the  2020  Census  of  Population  and  Housing  (2020  CPH),  the regional population in 2024 increased by about 78,779 from 4.55 million in 2020. 

The region’s  annual  population  growth  rate  (PGR)  from  2020  to  2024  slowed  down  to  0.41  percent,  translating  to  an  average  of  about  4  additional  persons  for  every 1,000 population per year. 

This growth rate is lower than the 0.50 percent recorded between 2015 and 2020.  Among  the  six  provinces  in  Eastern  Visayas,  Leyte  (excluding  Tacloban  City) registered  the  largest  population  in  2024  with  1.82  million,  accounting  for  39.4  percent  of  the  region’s  total  population. 

 PSA regional director Wilma Perante on her report emphasized that  the annual Population Growth Rate (in percent)Figure 1. Total Population and Annual Population Growth Rate, Eastern Visayas: Census Years 1960 – 2024 (Total Population in millions, Annual Population Growth Rate in percent) 2  806,179 population (17.4%), 

Northern Samar with 645,789 (14.0%), Eastern Samar with 472,683 (10.2%), and Southern Leyte with 434,372 (9.4%). The least populated province  was Biliran, with  184,095  residents,  comprising  around  4.0 percent of  the region’s total population.  Meanwhile,  the  lone  Highly  Urbanized  City  (HUC)  of  Tacloban  recorded  a  total population of  259,353 in 2024, accounting for 5.6  percent of  the  total population of Eastern Visayas. 

 Three  (3)  out  of  6  provinces  in  the  region,  namely  Biliran, Leyte  (excluding  Tacloban  City),  and  Southern  Leyte  experienced  a  slowdown  in annual  PGR  from  2015-2020  to  2020-2024.  In  contrast,  Samar  and Northern  Samar  posted  increases  in  their  annual  PGRs,  while  Eastern  Samar recorded a population decline. 

 Biliran  was  the  fastest  growing  province  with  an  annual  PGR  of 0.63 percent from 2020 to 2024, closely followed by Leyte (excluding Tacloban City) with 0.62 percent. Samar ranked third with an annual PGR of 0.39 percent, followed by Southern Leyte at 0.27 percent, and Northern Samar at 0.25 percent.

 Meanwhile, Eastern Samar was the only province to record a negative growth rate, posting the lowest PGR at -0.23 percent.  Tacloban  City,  the  region’s  lone  HUC,  posted  an  annual  PGR  of  0.70  percent  for  the  period  2020-2024,  lower  than  the  0.84  percent  recorded  in  2015-2020.  The  PSA  extends  its  sincere  appreciation  to  the  public  for  their  continued  support and  active  participation  in  the  conduct  of  the  2024  POPCEN. 

 This  nationwide undertaking  marks  the  16th  census  of  population  in  the  Philippines  since  the  first census was conducted in 1903.  The  most  recent  population  data .